Networking

Essentially, networking in OpenScape Business transforms dispersed communications into a single, cohesive, and secure environment, enhancing collaboration for small and medium-sized businesses.

In OpenScape Business, networking enables seamless, secure, and unified communication across multiple sites, supporting up to 2,000 users in a single network. It facilitates cost savings through VoIP, provides high-availability failover, and integrates diverse communication channels—voice, video, conferencing, and mobile—regardless of the underlying infrastructure, allowing remote workers to remain connected.

• Multi-Site Connectivity: Connects up to 2,000 subscribers, allowing employees at different locations to operate as part of one, unified system.
• Cost Efficiency & Flexibility: Supports on-premise, cloud-based, or hybrid deployments, reducing operational costs by utilizing existing IP infrastructure.
• Enhanced Mobility & Remote Work: Integrates mobile devices, laptops, and tablets into the office network (via myPortal), ensuring users are reachable anywhere, reducing travel expenses.
• Security & Compatibility: Features an integrated Session Border Controller (SBC) and supports TLS 1.2 for secure connections between IP devices, including SIP and HFA protocols.
• High Availability: Provides automatic failover, ensuring that if a main system fails, devices automatically reconnect to a local gateway to maintain functionality.

Enhance Motherboard

The new and improved control board (specifically the OCCLA mainboard introduced in OpenScape Business V3 for X8 models) significantly boosts the performance, security, and scalability of the system. It serves as a future-proof technology upgrade, allowing for faster processing, enhanced UC (Unified Communications) capabilities, and easier, more efficient, and cost-effective administration.

1. Enhanced Performance and Capacity

• Faster CPU Performance: The new board offers approximately 8x faster CPU performance, enhancing overall system responsiveness.
• Embedded UC Capabilities: Full UC capabilities and applications are now embedded directly on the mainboard, eliminating the need for separate, additional UC Booster Cards or Servers.
• High-Performance Encryption: Features a dedicated co-processor for enhanced on-board encryption, supporting secure communications and LDAPS for Microsoft Active Directory.
• Higher Capacities: Supports increased limits, including up to 500 UC/Unify Phone users and 120 SIP trunk channels.

2. Improved Technology and Efficiency

• Storage Upgrade: Replaces older SDHC cards with fast, long-life M.2-SSD for system software and application storage.
• Gigabit Connectivity: Includes Gigabit Network Interfaces for faster, more robust network connections.
• On-Board Audio: Audio (IVM) capabilities are now on-board.
• Enhanced Media Server: Replaces the older RTP proxy with a more powerful "payload engine" to handle WebRTC, providing better voice quality and optimized media paths (lowering latency and jitter).
• Advanced Features: Provides support for new features such as Microsoft Teams integration (via SBC), extended directory access for all users, and better handling of remote/home office workers.

Universal IP Licenses

In OpenScape Business, Universal IP Licenses (often referred to as OpenScape Business IP User licenses or simply "IP User") are designed to provide maximum flexibility for licensing users in a hybrid communication environment. They enable administrators to easily switch between different types of devices and mobility solutions without needing to buy new, separate licenses.

Here is how Universal IP Licenses help:

• Flexible Activation of Devices: One IP User license can be used to activate a variety of devices, including:
  • IP System Telephones (HFA or SIP).
  • TDM Users (Digital/analog system phones, analog fax, or DECT phones).
  • Mobility/Remote Workers (Mobile devices or softphones).
• Support for Hybrid Environments: It allows a user to move from a desk phone to a software client (like myPortal) without needing to purchase a new license, simplifying management for IT administrators.
• Easy Migration: The license is key for migrating from older legacy systems (like HiPath 3000) to OpenScape Business by allowing existing TDM/analog devices to be upgraded with the new IP-based licensing structure.
• Simplified Purchasing: Instead of keeping track of separate, rigid licenses for every analog phone, every IP phone, and every mobile user, the "Universal" concept streamlines inventory.
• Mobility Integration: It is required for the myPortal to go VoIP Client, allowing users to use their smartphone as a company extension.

N + 1 PSU

The N+1 PSU configuration ensures the OpenScape Business system is fault-tolerant regarding power supply, providing high availability and reliability for essential business communications. N+1 Power Supply Unit (PSU) configuration provides essential hardware redundancy, ensuring that if one power supply unit fails, the system continues to operate without interruption.

• Continuous Operation (Zero Downtime): If a single PSU fails or is removed, the remaining unit(s) in the N+1 configuration immediately take over the load, preventing the communication system from shutting down.
• Automatic Load Balancing: In normal operation, PSUs often operate in a load-sharing mode, distributing the electrical demand across all units. This reduces thermal stress on individual components and increases the overall lifespan of the hardware.
• Hot-Swappable Replacement: The failed PSU can typically be removed and replaced without shutting down the OpenScape Business system (hot-swappable), allowing repairs to be made without disrupting business communications.
• Improved Reliability for Mission-Critical Services:N+1 protects against the single point of failure that a single power supply represents, which is vital for voice communication and UC services.
• Grid Redundancy Potential: The setup can be configured to protect against a total power grid failure (if connected to separate power sources), ensuring that even if one circuit fails, the system remains powered.

Session Border Controller (SBC)

A SBC is always mandatory, and it is highly recommended for securing VoIP infrastructure.

In OpenScape Business, the Session Border Controller (SBC) acts as a specialized security and interoperability gateway for SIP-based communication, securing VoIP traffic between the internal network and external SIP trunks. It protects against attacks like DDoS and toll fraud, handles NAT traversal, and ensures proper media/signaling interoperability.

Key ways the OpenScape SBC helps:

• VoIP Security: Unlike standard data firewalls, the SBC provides VoIP-specific security, offering deep packet inspection, stateful SIP validation, and mitigation against Denial-of-Service (DoS) and Distributed Denial-of-Service (DDoS) attacks.
• SIP Trunk Protection: It acts as a barrier, terminating external SIP trunk signaling and establishing new, secure connections to internal IP phones or the PBX.
• NAT Traversal: The SBC handles Network Address Translation (NAT) for both signaling and RTP/SRTP media packets, ensuring voice traffic flows correctly between public and private networks.
• Encryption and Privacy: It supports TLS encryption for signaling and SRTP for media, ensuring privacy, while hiding network topology to prevent exposing internal IP addresses.
• Interoperability: It normalizes different SIP protocol dialects to resolve multivendor compatibility issues.
• Remote Work Support: It enables secure registration of remote users and branch offices to the main system.

High MTBF

A high MTBF in OpenScape Business transforms the communication system from a potential bottleneck into a reliable, "rock-solid" foundation for business operations.

In OpenScape Business, a high Mean Time Between Failures (MTBF) is a critical metric for reliability, directly contributing to business continuity and operational efficiency. As a platform that consolidates voice, UC, conferencing, and contact center functionality, high MTBF means the system experiences fewer unexpected, repairable failures over its lifespan.

• Minimizes Costly Downtime: A high MTBF reduces the frequency of unexpected outages that can disrupt business operations, preventing lost productivity and potential revenue loss.
• Enhances Reliability for Critical Communication: Because OpenScape Business handles vital voice and UC services, a high MTBF ensures that communication channels remain robust and available.
• Improves User and Customer Experience: Fewer system failures mean consistent, uninterrupted access to UC clients, voicemail, and contact center functionality,which is essential for maintaining high-quality customer service.
• Lowers Total Cost of Ownership (TCO): A more reliable system requires less maintenance, fewer emergency repairs, and fewer service visits from technicians, allowing organizations to maximize their IT budget.
• Secures Investment Protection: OpenScape Business offers a solid, reliable foundation that includes long-term support and upgrade paths, ensuring that the hardware lasts longer before needing replacement.

SNMP – Real Time Monitoring

SNMP Traps in OpenScape Business transform passive monitoring into active, real-time awareness, allowing for faster responses to potential service-disrupting events.

In OpenScape Business, SNMP Traps (Simple Network Management Protocol) serve as a proactive, real-time alerting mechanism that allows the communication system to notify administrators of critical events, errors, or changes in status immediately, rather than waiting for scheduled status checks.

Here is how SNMP Traps help in OpenScape Business environments:

• Real-Time Fault Monitoring: As soon as a significant event occurs—such as a link failure, system failure, or environmental issue (e.g., in the server room)—the OpenScape Business agent sends an unsolicited message (a "trap") to a designated Network Management System (NMS).
• Proactive Issue Resolution: By providing instant notifications of "linkUp" or "linkDown" states, administrators can identify connectivity issues or port configuration changes immediately, minimizing downtime.
• Efficient Resource Usage: Unlike traditional polling, where the management system constantly asks the device for its status, traps are only sent when an issue occurs. This reduces network overhead.
• Centralized Management: SNMP Traps allow the OpenScape Business system to be integrated into broader network monitoring tools, ensuring all infrastructure components are monitored from a single console.
• Support for Security and Maintenance: The system uses SNMP v2, allowing for the transmission of error messages, as well as enabling administrators to monitor security-relevant topics such as unauthorized access attempts.

Technical Configuration Points:

• SNMP v2 Support: OpenScape Cordless IP and similar components typically support SNMP v2.
• Trap Destinations: The system can be configured to send these traps to a specific IP address of an NMS or pre specified Email Id’s of administrator, Management, and Central Service Desk.
• Community Strings: Default community names like "public" (read-only) or "private" (read-write) should be changed to secure the communication, as traps are sent in clear text.